Reading Week – How to make the most of it?
Most Warwick Law School students get a Reading Week during the sixth week of term. This means that there are no lectures or seminars that week. It is a great opportunity, therefore, to relax and recover from the previous five weeks of term but also a chance to catch up on any missed work and to get started on revision and essay writing. Here is what I typically try to do during my reading weeks and how I try to strike a balance between fun and work stuff.
- Go home
If it is possible for you to go home, even if it is just for part of Reading Week, I would highly recommend doing so. It can be really beneficial to have a quick change of scenery, enjoy a homecooked meal and to spend a few days with your parents.
- Washing, cleaning and admin
I like to take advantage of the extra time at home to do my laundry (especially the more difficult laundry like delicate tops or sports bras that have been waiting to be washed for weeks…). I also try to deep clean my room and get any admin stuff out of the way.
- Cook a healthy meal
Reading week is the perfect opportunity to make the effort of cooking a few healthy meals. Why not try a few easily meal prepable dishes that you can use for the remainder of the term?
- Job applications
It can be challenging during term time to combine all of the following: studying, socialising, working out, cooking, sleeping and applying for jobs. Reading Week gives you the opportunity to focus on the latter a little more than usual. Term 1 Reading Week will be useful for law students in particular as it takes place well before many internship deadlines. If you are not concerned by such deadlines, Term 2 Reading Week is perfect for looking at apply for and securing a summer job. Tip: make a spread sheet to track the applications you have made, the ones you still want to apply to and the ones you have heard back from.
- Catch up on missed work & go over content covered
If you missed any classes during the term, now is the perfect time to catch up. I also really like to use the time to revist the content covered in the first half of the term. Exams might still seem to be very far away but it can’t hurt to get started on making revision sheets. Reading Week tends to also be the time during which Formative Assignments are released so make sure you take advantage of those. When it comes to a degree like Law, formative assignments are a really good way of gaining very valuable personalised feedback on your work so definitely seize the opportunity!
- Get a head start on assignments and seminar work
If your week isn’t filled enough yet, I would highly recommend getting a head start on any essays that are due the next term. Again, although it might seem far away, the earlier you get started, the more time you have to ask your tutors any questions. Of course, seminars are back on again in Week 7 so don’t forget about preparing for those.
- Catch up on sleep
Chances are many of your friends will also have gone home for reading week and so there might be less events on in the evenings. Take advantage of that by going to bed early and getting a few good nights of sleep. Preparing your body for the rest of the term is a smart thing to do.
- Relax and have fun!
Whether you go home or stay around uni, make sure to relax and have some fun. Change things up a bit by doing something exciting with friends or have some different types of conversations with your family. Either way, remember to schedule in some downtime for yourself, so you can recharge your batteries and tackle the rest of the term filled with fresh enegery!
